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My first boy scout campout with my sons new Troop. My back isnt what it used to be and the scoutmaster had hung a hammock but slept in a tent. About 4 am I got up with back pain and decided to sleep in the hammock the rest of the night. About 5 minutes in right there I was buying a hammock. Until it started to rain an hour later I hopped like a bunny in my sleeping bag back to my tent for more back pain. LOL

Great question. I've been doing canoeing, backpacking, snowshoeing, skiing and cycling trips since the early '80's, one trip to Hudson's Bay as long as 40 days, several other backpack and canoe trips of three weeks and many, many shorter ones. I had always been in a tent and was just completely ignorant of hammock camping. I can honestly say I've never seen anyone camping with a hammock on any of my trips.

I've spent the last several months preparing for a summer long sabbatical (starts May 21, so under two months now!), the first five weeks of which is going to be paddling in the BWCA and Quetico. It was probably on one of the solo tripping sites I stalk that I saw my first reference to hammocking instead of tenting. I looked around for other information and was intrigued by the versatility (not having to find a sit with a doable site for a tent), being able to do a dry set up and take down, and, of course, the comfort and space/weight savings. I've also been a gear head and tinkerer for a long, long time, so those aspects of my personality seemed to fit hammocking as well.

I was all set to purchase two Hennessys (my canoe trip is divided into a three week solo and then two weeks with a friend) and I've been waiting since November for the "two for one" sale I read about somewhere. As I waited I kept reading. Finally I read about WBBB and looked at a few videos. A few weeks ago my friend and I each ordered one with the Big Mamajamba tarp. I have a 20* Phoenix on order from HG. Looking forward to five weeks of good sleep on trail and I will also be taking the hammock with us as my wife and two sons and I head out west and up to Alaska for the second leg of my sabbatical.

Thanks to all of you for your friendliness and the wealth of information on this website. It has been invaluable. Now I just need to wean myself from it so I can get some actual work done.

Y I'm a "hanger"

Hi, I'm Lee. I became a hammock camper mostly because I am a Yacker so compactness and weight are critical issues. Secondly, after spending all day in a comfortable seat, it's tough to stretch out on the cold and lumpy ground. Lastly, I feel better leaving as small of a footprint as possible. I came to the forum because I started a new MYOG (Make Your Own Gear) phase. By looking at everyone's photos I can get new ideas and better configurations.

Looking at hammocks since returning to backpacking. Hoping to reduce back pain from sleeping on the ground. I think I will go with Clark NX250 but debating underquilt or clarks inserts. Any thoughts/input will be appreciated.

It first started when my friend invited me on an 11 mile hike through the Santa Ana Mountains. I carried about 50 LB of useless C#$% to Blue Jay campground that day, and learned a valuable leason... "don't let your eyes become bigger than what you can carry!" Since then I have been on a mission to lighten my load and be as comfortable as possible while hiking and camping. After going from a Eureka Spit Fire tent to a Equinox 8 by 10 tarp with a Sangria La Bug Nest 2, I found the HAMMOCK!!!!The rest is history baby!!!

My moms boyfriend is a hanger and he told me about hanging and it sounded perrty cool so the next time he was going I asked him if I could go with him and it turns out its the coolest way to camp. Now i have my own hammock my own jetboil and a perrty nice back pack

I decided to give a hammock a try as a way to get off the rocks of the river bed on kayaking trips. I first tried it out in April of 2010 and have never looked back. I saw a grand trunk parachute hammock in Cabela's and figured I would take it along on my kayaking trip and give it a try and I fell in love after the first night. It was by far the best nights sleep I have ever had outdoors.

On the first day, I was looking for a replacement for my leaking pad
On the second day, I started reorganizing my (tent-)camping set
On the third day, I ordered an Exped Synmat 7
On the fourth day, I thought about bivys
On the fifth day, I came to this forum
On the sixth day, I ordered a hammock and a tarp
On the seventh day, I checked my CC bill and wondered where I was coming from

By now I know most hammock suppliers websites, got quite some accessories (thanks Dutch, whoopieslings.com, AE), ordered a quilt, won another hammock and ... repaired my old pad

By now I have read so much and watched so many vids and prepared my setup so that, last week-end, I was able to set up my tarp and hammock - within a reasonable timeframe - in the dark just with a small light for my second night out.